A Universal Language

A couple of weekends ago as I journeyed out with my family for some food and fun I made a startling discovery. There is a universal language, one that crosses all boundaries known to man to make a statement.

The first evidence of this came as I waited in a long line at my post office to mail some packages. There were screaming children (thankfully mine were waiting in the car with Ryan), frustrated employees, a problem with a computer, quite a few grumpy people.

A lady that was in line ahead of me struggled to understand what was being said by the employees as they would call out "anybody here for a pick-up?", or "anybody here for a passport?" She obviously spoke another language and kept turning to others to see if somehow they could communicate with her.

Usually when she turned around others would look at her with blank stares and you could see the confusion in her eyes as she struggled to understand. Then I finally noticed it: a pick-up slip. The lady had been waiting all this time when she could have picked up her package more than 10 minutes earlier. So, I tapped her shoulder and pointed to the line where the last man was waiting to get his package. She just looked at me confused and I knew she was unaware of what I was saying so I touched her ticket and smiled then pointed to the line again. I knew that she understood because she smiled back and walked off to get in the other line.

When the man took her ticket and walked to the back to retrieve it, she turned to smile at me. I understood. She said, "Thank you".

The greatest of these was when her package arrived and she saw who it was from. She lit up and a smile was evident from ear to ear. She said, "I am so happy to have this package!" though all she really did was smile.

So I began to test this. I smiled at my hubby and the kids when I got back to the car. They smiled back. It was as if we were saying "I missed you! I'm glad that we are together again!" Then I smiled at people as we walked in the parking lot. They smiled back. It was as if we were saying, "Hi!" Some smiled so grandly it was as if they were saying, "Hi and have a great day!"
This was amazing to me. I tend to mind my own business when out in public. Not out of rudeness but out of busyness. This taught me a major lesson. I can change the course of someone's day by communicating with them... through a smile.

Have you smiled at someone today?

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Matthew 25:40

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